How Tesla's Master Plan Part 3 Will Change Everything

March 24, 2022

By Gabe Rodriguez Morrison

Tesla's work in AI leads them into robotics

In 2006, Elon Musk released The Tesla Motors Master Plan. The first plan outlined how Tesla would build an expensive electric sports car, use that money to build a more affordable car, then use that money to build an even more affordable car. All while providing zero-emission electric power generation options. Tesla has since accomplished all of the above, producing millions of electric cars while rapidly bringing down production costs.

A decade later, in 2016, while the first plan was coming to fruition, Tesla released the Tesla Master Plan, Part Deux. In short, the plan would be to "Create stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage. Expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments. Develop a self-driving capability that is 10X safer than manual via massive fleet learning and enable your car to make money for you when you aren't using it."

While this plan has yet to be fully realized, a third plan may indicate that the second plan is within reach. Tesla has made huge progress with its FSD beta program and Elon Musk recently doubled down that Tesla will release FSD later this year. The production of the CyberTruck and Semi is set to begin next year. As the second plan is coming together, Elon Musk tweeted that he’s working on Tesla's “Master Plan Part 3”

Working on Master Plan Part 3
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2022

Elon further hinted at the subject of the master plan in another recent tweet:

Main Tesla subjects will be scaling to extreme size, which is needed to shift humanity away from fossil fuels, and AI.

But I will also Include sections about SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2022

This tweet gives us a lot more insight into what Tesla is planning. It is now clear that a key part of the plan will be to “scale to extreme size to shift humanity away from fossil fuels.”

Tesla has put out a 20 million vehicle target by 2030. It sounds like a third plan will address how to achieve or even exceed this target. Despite Tesla's massive growth, the automaker currently accounts for just roughly 1% of the total vehicle market share. Scaling to “extreme size” is necessary to make a significant shift away from fossil fuels. The limiting factor to further scaling is the manufacturing of batteries. In particular, the real bottleneck is the mining of rare earth minerals (copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt etc.) required for battery production.

This is why Tesla’s Master Plan, Part 3 could be centered around rare earth mineral mining. So how does the Boring Company, AI and SpaceX play into mining? One theory is that the Boring Company could create the necessary tunnels and land environment to extract raw materials. The Tesla bot could be used to safely and ethically mine raw materials. SpaceX could use starships to rapidly and cost-effectively transport raw materials across long distances. If the battery limiting factor is conquered successfully, the company could begin to think about other uses for batteries including HVAC systems, pre-built homes, and more.

It’s also possible that Tesla’s Master Plan, Part 3 will involve Tesla’s transition to an Artificial Intelligence and data company. After all, Elon has repeatedly stated that Tesla will be thought of more as an artificial intelligence company than anything else. The company has been focused on solving real-world AI and more recently we had AI day, introducing the Optimus Humanoid Robot.

In the product roadmap update on the Q4 earnings call, Elon stated that "the most important product development is the Optimus Humanoid Robot” which he thinks "has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time. He explained that “labor is the foundation of the economy."

With no labor shortages, humanoid robots could revolutionize the world economy. They could also play a crucial role in scaling to extreme size and overcoming the limiting factor of battery manufacturing.

Here is a prediction of what the Master plan, Part 3 could include:

Develop the best AI training supercomputer to solve real-world problems that goes way beyond just self-driving
Remove battery manufacturing as the limiting factor to vehicle production by building millions of Tesla bots to eliminate the need for dangerous, boring, repetitive jobs (mining)
Synergize The Boring Company, Tesla and SpaceX to mine and transport raw materials on a massive scale

What do you think Tesla aims to accomplish in its third master plan? Let us know.

Tesla Teases New 7-Seat Model Y

June 12, 2025

By Karan Singh

The third row in the first-generation Model Y

Not a Tesla App

In a move that’s sure to excite those with larger families, Tesla has started teasing the return of the seven-seat configuration for the Model Y. In a new marketing email sent out to customers recently, Tesla explicitly highlights the vehicle’s spaciousness.

“Ready for anything with long range, seating for up to seven, and enough room for everyone’s gear.”

The seven-seat Model Y was initially offered in late 2021, but it hasn’t been available since Spring 2023. The return of the new variant will be an addition that many have been waiting for, as the next vehicle with that much passenger space in the line-up is the Model X, starting at almost double the price.

First-Gen Model Y Third Row

The original seven-seat Model Y was extremely popular in the Asia-Pacific and European markets, and it still sold fairly well in North America despite differences in preferred vehicle sizing and spaciousness. It offers additional seats for larger families with young children, but space in the third row is minimal.

The seven-seat variant makes the Model Y more competitive against other three-row SUVs on the market. The video below features the seven-seater, first-generation Model Y.

Power Reclining Third Row?

The refreshed Model Y was launched with power-reclining second-row seats, a huge plus for practicality and ease of use. The power-reclining second-row seats are extremely popular with families and are very helpful, as you can control them from the front screen rather than needing to open the rear doors.

Tesla is likely to integrate power-reclining seats into the third row and potentially keep them for the second row as well. With the second row sliding forward and backward for easy entry, as well as allowing the second and third rows to fold flat for additional cargo room when needed.

Launch Date and Price

Tesla’s tease of the seven-seat variant is likely just the start. With recent sightings of the Model Y Performance variant hitting the Nürburgring, it seems Tesla has a lot in store for this summer. If you’ve been waiting for the seven-seat variant, it seems like it’ll be just a few short months away at this rate.

While we haven’t seen any production samples or other details regarding dates yet, Tesla previously priced the seven-seat option at an additional $2,000 USD ($3,000 CAD). The seven-seat option will likely only be available on the Long Range AWD and Long Range RWD variants, not the Performance model, similar to the first-generation Model Y.

Tesla’s First Autonomous Vehicle Delivery to Happen on June 28th

June 12, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

In Elon’s flurry of posts on X about FSD yesterday, he also revealed the date that another moment of peak science fiction would be occurring — June 28th. Tesla expects to conduct the first-ever self-delivery, where a brand-new Model Y will depart from the production line and arrive directly at its new owner’s home without any human intervention.

Imagine ordering a vehicle, and a few days later, rather than needing to pick it up, it simply arrives in your driveway and notifies you via an app that it has arrived. That’s no longer the talk of science fiction; it is quite literally something that is likely to happen this month.

Expect a Model Y Delivery in Austin

Considering everything Tesla has done so far, we’re fairly certain that the first self-delivered vehicle will be a Model Y in Austin, in the same geo-fenced area where Tesla’s Robotaxi will operate. FSD is highly optimized for the Model Y, and it’ll take some time for those optimizations to trickle down to the rest of the fleet. It’s not clear if FSD performs better on the Model Y because it’s the most popular vehicle and, therefore, Tesla has the most data for it or if Tesla explicitly chose to focus more on their most popular vehicle.

Tentatively, June 22.

We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift.

First Tesla that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house is June 28.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2025

Why Self-Delivery?

While a car driving itself is something truly different from what other manufacturers offer, there are also numerous strategic advantages for Tesla to do so. This includes drastically reducing last-mile delivery costs by minimizing the need for car carriers, delivery drivers, and even delivery personnel at your local Tesla center. For customers, it could mean a faster, more flexible delivery method - and one absolutely unforgettable welcome to Tesla ownership.

We recently took a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of vehicles delivering themselves to customers. While it’s all positive for Tesla, there are some potentially negative sides to it as well.

A Futuristic Glimpse

When you step back and look at it, Self-Delivery is a logical extension of Unsupervised FSD and the Robotaxi network in general. Self-deliveries are expected to run on the same software stack that powers the Model Ys currently roaming Austin’s streets autonomously, which means there is little for Tesla to do other than enable specific instructions for self-delivery during the final vehicle configuration steps.

Robotaxis currently run a newer version of FSD than what’s available to the public, but these self-delivered vehicles will likely be on the same version when they’re delivered.

Given Elon’s note that the dates could shift, this could easily be moved to early July; however, either way, it seems like we’re just weeks away from this monumental event, which will further reduce the cost of Tesla vehicles.